Top 17 Money Saving Household Borax Uses and Hacks

Before starting with borax uses lets first understand what it Borax and where to buy it. People who know this, can skip this part.

What Is Borax and Where Can You Get It?

Borax also know as sodium tetraborate is a naturally-occurring mineral which is mined from the ground. In powder form, Borax looks like white or colorless crystals.

Borax has been know for so many years now. Earlier in 19th century, it is believe that, borax was mainly used for laundry and other cleaning purposes. Today also there are multiple borax usesaround the home, as borax is an ingredient in many household cleaning products, including air fresheners, cleaning sprays, laundry detergents and even insecticides. Borax powder itself may be bought from your local store and applied directly to a range of cleaning tasks.

You can also get Borax powder in local grocery store like Wal-Mart. If you are thinking about its price, well, its not expensive thats why it people have been using borax in many household tasks. The amazing thing is, we will need little Borax to get the various things done. Borax has amazingly useful cleaning properties.Today we have collected the top popular Borax uses which are really easy to DIY and great hacks.

Are you excited to check what is borax used for then lets get started.

Say GO AWAY To Pests With Borax

Borax is very effective at keeping way cockroaches, ants, water bugs and a few other household pests. Not only this Borax works great on mice too.

To keep pests away what all you need to do is: mix equal parts of borax with regular sugar. Just make sure that you do not leave this out where pets or small children can reach it.

To begin the treatment, the best place to start with are under stoves, refrigerators or sinks. These are common places where pests hide. To keep mice away, you just have to sprinkle it in areas where you think mice may be hiding and it will work wonders to get rid them.

You can also sprinkle it on carpet and vacuum to remove fleas or sprinkle on your mattress to rid your bed of bed bugs. Again while doing this take great care that kids and pets are no where around.

Easy Toilet Bowl Borax Cleaner

I think the easiest way to clean your Toilet bowl is with Borax.

Recipes:

Take a cup of borax and sprinkle it around your toilet bowl—and add a little bit in the actual bowl itself—before you go to bed. With a little bit of time to do its thing, borax will break down stains, mold and mildew. So, that pink/orange stuff in your toilet? It’ll get rid of that for sure. It will also help to get rid of any rings and/or odors. Next day when you wake up in the morning, with the help of your toilet bowl brush give your toilet a little scrub and a flush. It will hardly take any time and you will be surprised with the final result.

Bring the water and vinegar to a boil, either on your stove top or in a microwave-safe bowl. Add borax to the water and vinegar, and stir the mixture until the borax has dissolved completely. Set the mixture aside to cool. Once the mixture is cool, add the lemon essential oil and mix well.

Now pour the entire mixture right into your toilet bowl. Use your toilet brush to swish it around a bit, to make sure the cleaning solution gets up onto the walls of the toilet bowl. Then all you need to do is take rest! Sleep! Let the cleaner work overnight, then in the morning, give it a scrub with your toilet brush. Then Flush, and simply admire your sparkling clean toilet bowl!

Using Borax: Get Rid of Rust

To remove rust with Borax here is the solution: Mix 1 cup of Borax with 2 cups of warm water and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. It works wonders on rust. Apply the paste with a sponge or scrubber to your rusted items. You can apply this Borax paste on old pots and pans that are rusted. Once you apply it on rusted item, let it set for 15 minutes. Then rinse and then just scrub the rust away.

If you notice that the rust is a bit stubborn, then apply a second coating and leave it for another 15 to 20 minutes. Later it will become easy to scrub off the remaining Rust. Use sponge for scrubbing.

You can use this Borax paste on dishes too.

With Borax Make All-Purpose Cleaner

Do you know, just by mixing just 2 tablespoons of Borax with 2 cups of hot water makes a wonderful all-purpose cleaner. For this use a spray bottle. You can use this Borax solution to shine your kitchen and clean your bathrooms.

If you compare this Borax all purpose cleaner with other other ready to use available cleaners in the market then its so inexpensive.

Other areas where you can use this solution are: Bathtubs, stoves.

Borax To Renew Your Old China

If your China set seems loosing its shine then time has come to give it a little make over with Borax.

You just have to soak old china in a sink filled with warm water and ½ cup of Borax. Leave the dishes soaking for at least 30 minutes and then simply rinse the Borax away and wash as usual. It will remove all of the dinginess and bring the shine back to your old dishes.

Make your worn china sparkle again. Isn’t it so simple? Here it is not recommended that you scrub your old china. What best you can do is, simply let the Borax do its job by soaking as opposed to risking scratches by scrubbing.

Preserve Fresh Flowers With Borax

Fresh-cut flowers of many varieties can be preserved with the help of borax! If you wonder how it works? Borax removes moisture from blossoms and leaves, that way it prevents the wilting that would normally occur.

You will need to cut your flowers and place them in a box that contains the mixture you prefer. Mix one part borax with two parts cornmeal, and sprinkle the mixture into the bottom of a box.

Here you need to make sure that the entire flower is sprinkled with the mixture and then simply seal the box with tape. Now leave it sealed for at least seven days. After seven days your flowers will dry out and you are free to do whatever you want with them.

Note: The cut flowers which we buy from florists normally have a special water solution to preserve them. So this Borax method to preserve flowers may not work on them.

Borax Helps To Give Laundry a Boost

Borax is known to boost the power of your detergent, by brightening and whitening. It also helps deodorize your clothing and gets rid of stains as an added bonus.

To boost the cleaning: add about ½ cup borax to your laundry to see clothes that are cleaner and stain-free. Borax also adds natural scent to your cloths.

If you love coffee or tea, you must have spilled it accidentally on your clothes at least once. Instead of discarding that stained t-shirt or dress, consider soaking it in a solution of borax and warm water. Just mix ½ cup of borax with a cup of warm water and allow the clothing to soak for about half an hour before laundering.

In this entire process, Borax will help soften the hard water and is really effective at removing hard water stains from clothing and from your washing machine.

Flea Control : Using Borax to Kill Fleas

Fleas in the carpet is a common problem if you have pets in your home. If you have flea problem at home then Borax is a cost effective solution for it. This video shows you how to prepare one.

Borax basically acts as a desiccant to extract the water off fleas and larvae and get them dehydrated enough to perish. It’s a long-drawn process and takes time, so don’t expect instant results.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFg8MqrGivY&feature=youtu.be

Make Homemade Candles Burn Better Using Borax

If you make your own candles, treat the wicks by soaking them in a solution of salt and borax to help reduce ash and eliminate smoke problems.

Here is the solution: Dissolve 1 tablespoon of regular table salt along with 3 tablespoons of Borax in a cup of lukewarm water. Soak butcher’s twine or whatever twine you prefer to use in this solution for 24 hours. Once the twine has completely dried, you can use it to make candle wicks.

Kids love floam and they will love that you can make it for them. Floam is fun to play with and easy to make with Borax.

You need to mix together 2 teaspoons of Borax, ¾ cup of water and ¼ cup of Elmer’s glue. Begin by mixing the Borax with ½ cup of water. In another container, mix the glue and the additional ¼ cup of water together with food coloring. Pour the glue mixture into a Ziploc bag and add 3 tablespoons of the Borax mixture.

It is important that you do not mix this solution yet. Add 1 and 2/3 cup of polystyrene beads or 2/3 cup of microbeads and 1 cup of bean bag filler. You could also use grated packing peanuts or Styrofoam. Seal the bag and knead until it is mixed well. Let sit for about 15 minutes and then knead again.

Soak cotton balls in the mixture, and put them out near the mess of ants.

The sugar attracts the ants, and they’ll take the Borax with it back to their home.

If you have small children or pets, be sure that you keep them away from the Borax, and always wash your hands after using.

Make a Borax Floor Cleaner

Borax can be used as a cleaner for your home floor. By making your own cleaning the floor, of course, you can save time and money. Borax is simple materials that available in your home.

1 teaspoon of dish detergent mixed with 1/3 cup of Borax, 1 tablespoon of ammonia and a gallon of hot water makes a wonderful floor cleaner. The Borax will help to get stubborn stains from the floor and you can use it on tile, linoleum or hardwood flooring.

Remove Stains from Mirrors With Borax Powder

For a smear-free, presentable mirror, mix three cups of hot water and two tablespoons of borax to prepare a cleaning solution. Dip a cloth into this and wipe down windows, sliding glass doors and mirrors in horizontal patterns.

Use Borax Remove Crayon Marks from Walls

Removing crayon marks from clean, painted walls is the worst nightmare of every parent. What’s even worse is that those marks keep coming up every time your back is turned. Well, borax can be your answer. Here is a helpful homemade cleaner recipe to conveniently wipe off marks and keep your walls looking spotless.

IF you think you have pay for drain treatment, then you better check this Borax clean recipe. Just ½ cup of Borax poured down your drain will unclog it when you follow with a couple of cups of boiling water. Add the Borax followed by the boiling water and leave for at least 15 minutes. Then just run your tap water until it is all flushed out.

Here Borax helps to break down gunk and stuff that gets stuck in your drain and the boiling water helps to flush it all away. Not only will this remove that gunk and unclog your sink drain, it will also clean and disinfect it so it will smell much better when you are finished.

This Borax treatment is so much inexpensive.

Now there are some creative craft borax uses

Home Decor Using Borax: Borax Crystals

If you’re a crystal and gemstone lover like me, these DIY Borax Crystals are an easy way to incorporate them in your home.

DIY Borax Slime

And here’s a fun little recipe that you can try if you or your kids are so inclined to play with slime. Borax is one of the key ingredients.